Sock Monkeys

I spent the day in the sewing room yesterday:

Ha ha, made you look, just kidding. Really, I didn't make a dress*, but I made these.



My mom made some of these for my brother, sister and me back about 1972. I got a girly monkey, my sister - a boy monkey, and my brother got the elephant. I am a monkey fanatic, so I LOVED this toy.

I bought a kit for them at either Michael's or Hobby Lobby. It comes with two pairs of socks and instructions for making the monkey or elephant. I think I paid $9.99.

SuperSockMonkey is a great site for info on the history of sock monkeys (they have been around for 100 years - amazing!). It also has a free pattern for a knitted hat and scarf (which I will finish up today) for the monkey. Apparently, the instructions are the same ones in use from the 1920s. I can't believe I am using the same exact instructions that my mom used in the 70s.

The kids love them. They wouldn't let me finish embroidering the eyes and noses on (and I did a pretty crappy job with them standing over me saying *hurry!*). Dd took hers to a friend's house to play after school and both kids slept with them last night. Ds was swinging his by the tail, I'm crossing my fingers it doesn't pull off. Most of this project is hand sewing, and in my case that means it's not as strong as machine sewn seams.

I have some Alexander Henry quilting cotton that's printed with sock monkeys. If I can find it, ahem, I'll make some shorts or a skirt or some kind of monkeysuits with it.

I'm not really sure why I've been making so many stuffed animals lately. Speaking of animals,

Here's a picture of Batty I took yesterday. It's so hard to get a good picture of a black cat. A few minutes ago he got into dd's bag of Valentines and candy. He got his head stuck in the handle and ran around with it hanging behind him and slinging candy and cards everywhere. I was laughing so hard. . .

*Here and Here are some links to the Sock Monkey dress. Apparently you can buy one, but how hard would it be to make?